The Indian market spurted today to cross the 16,000 mark and closed with handsome gains. Tracking the favoring cues from the global markets, the domestic market opened on a firm note and kept on marching forward throughout the trading session on the back of heavy buying across the sectoral indices. The domestic market rallied by taking the positive cues from the US as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to increase its bid to acquire Bear Stearns Cos. JP Morgan lifted its offer for Bear Stearns to 10 U.S. dollars per share from 2 dollars. The revised plan is aimed at soothing Bear Stearns shareholders upset over JP Morgan''s earlier offer. Also the economic data pointed to signs of stability that showed US new homes sales had risen by 3% in February 2008. From the sectoral front, all the sectoral indices posted smart gains.

The BSE Sensex closed higher by 928.09 points at 16,217.49 and NSE Nifty closed up by 267.65 points 4,877.50. The Mid Caps and Small Caps closed higher by 368.96 points and 334.52 points at 6,174.49 and 7,284.64 respectively.

The market breadth remained strong as 2,075 stocks closed in green as against 640 stocks that closed in red.

From the Sensex pack, JP associate (16.38%), DLF (13.47%) and Reliance Energy (12.97%), Infosys (9.64%) and Wipro (9.02%) were the major gainers.

Strong bounced back with firm session's across the globe. Indices opened on a strong note and continued its upward journey bit of profit booking was witnessed but manage to trade over 700 points. To everyone's surprise Sensex witnessed the second largest intraday gain's of 928 points. Earlier, stability in housing data and J.P Morgan Chase's increasing its bid for Bear Sterns witnessed good rally in US Market. Sensex gained by 6% accompanied by Midcaps as well did Small caps managed to gain 4.8%. Buying was seen across the board in all sectors. Value buying supplemented with some short covering led the rally. Realty sector gained the most with 9.5% , followed by Banking, IT, Power and Metals. Rally started with buying from Banking stocks and later spread over other sectors.

Unitech is one of India's largest and diversified real estate developers with an emerging pan-India presence. It enjoys leadership in markets of NCR National Capital Region and Kolkata. Unitech gained 11% to close at Rs281. Among the Realty sector, Unitech remains our pick. Unitech?s core strengths of land acquisition, reputation in building townships and relationships with governments and customers have enabled it to build a diversified portfolio. Unitech has a diversified land bank of 13,758 acres with a total saleable area of ~689m sq ft . Apart from aggressively launching and selling residential and commercial projects, Unitech has extensively widened its business scope by initiating forays into retail, hospitality, entertainment and SEZs. In addition, it also has a small presence in power transmission, prefabricated construction and ready mix concrete. Unitech land acquisition cost is approximately around Rs 200 per sq.ft . This gives Unitech a major advantage as it has a robust land bank and that too at a very attractive rate. The value of land has appreciated manifolds in recent times.Unitech participates only in tenders and not in auction?s . In last 12 months it has participated in 5-6 tenders and has won all of them. This shows Unitech?s strength , aggressive and planning. Valuations carry no meaning given that earnings in real estate can be lumpy. Best valuation parameters are based on the value of Unitech's land bank and to add to that the profitability of the future. We are positive on Unitech among the Real estate players. Do read our note to know more.

Apparels maker Gokaldas Exports advanced on reports the company has secured an order to supply 2.50 lakh units of sportswear like jumpers, track-suits & vests for the thousands of athletes participating in Beijing Olympics. The Nike association accounts for about 10-15% of the Bangalore-based company?s topline, with the supply for the Olympics alone bringing in anywhere between 3% and 5% of the topline. Besides selling directly to the national teams, Nike would also be looking to sell some portion of the merchandise sourced from the company through its chain of retail stores worldwide. Earlier in 2006, Gokaldas Exports landed as a supplier for the soccer World Cup which was jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea the World Cup order was for about 100,000 units.

Technically Speaking : As we mentioned of 15500 as resistance and above which we could see 16100 and market did cross 16100 levels . Sensex made an intra day high of 16262 and low of 15613. The breadth was in favor of Advances, as there were 2073 Advances against 652 Declines. Market turnover was a good at Rs 6836crs. Sensex support stands at 16020 and 15800.Resistance lies at 16380 and 16650.

Intense buying in frontline stocks saw the Sensex breach 16,000 mark today. Buoyancy was visible across the global markets. The rally was triggered by JP Morgan raising Bear Stearns acquisition price by 5 times and US economic data that showed US new home sales had risen 3% in February 2008.

In the domestic front, all the sectoral indices on BSE ended higher. Banking, IT and realty stocks posted impressive gains. Mid-cap and small-cap stocks surged. The market breadth was strong.

In Europe, key indices in UK, France and Germany were up by 2.80% to 3.25%. Most of the Asian indices rallied today. China’s Shanghai Composite, which declined more than 1% earlier, recovered sharply as the session progressed. It ended up 0.09%. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Japan were up by 1.19% to 5.88%.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 928.09 points or 6.07% to 16,217.49, its second biggest single-day rally in points as well as percentage terms. The index gained 972.98 points at session’s high of 16,262.38, hit at the fag end of the trade.

The broader CNX S&P Nifty jumped 267.65 points or 5.81% at 4877.50. Nifty March 2008 futures were at 4901.50, at a premium of 24 points as compared to spot closing of 4877.50.

The Sensex has gained 9.50% or 1408 points since its recent low of 14809.49 on 17 March 2008. The strong rebound on the domestic bourses is commendable coming in the backdrop of a recent steep fall.

Concerns of marked-to-market losses for firms on their foreign exchange derivatives exposure, meltdown in global markets, lower-than-expected industrial production data for January 2008 and a surge in inflation created havoc on the bourses recently. Hike in short-term capital gains tax and alteration of tax treatment of the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) in Union Budget 2008-09 announced on 29 February 2008 had dented the sentiment earlier.

India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 5.16% to Rs 2314.40. The firm is reportedly evaluating a plan to set up its third refinery at Jamnagar in an ambitious project to reach a total capacity of 100 million metric tonne per annum (mmtpa), the largest at a single location in the world.

Chemicals maker GHCL surged 16.28% to Rs 86.80 after the company said it plans to spin off its home textiles and retail businesses into separate units as part of a restructuring plan.

Software firm Prithvi Information Solutions surged 9.69% to Rs 154.50 after the software services firm said its board will consider a share buyback proposal on 31 March 2008.

Steel pipes maker Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren jumped 12.93% to Rs 332.35 after the company said it has bagged pipeline orders worth Rs 1,075 crore for the supply of spiral pipes to Northern Africa.

Apparels maker Gokaldas Exports advanced 8.73% to Rs 185 on reports the company has secured an order to supply 2.50 lakh units of sportswear like jumpers, track-suits & vests for the thousands of athletes participating in Beijing Olympics.

Apparels firm Arvind Mills jumped 5.44% to Rs 36.85 after the company said Arvind Brands a division of the company has signed an agreement with Philips-Van Heusen Corporation for designing, distribution & retailing of IZOD brand in India.

Future Capital Holdings, the financial services arm of the Future Group, jumped 7.74% to Rs 589.20 after the company said its board has approved to invest upto Rs 47.75 crore in its subsidiary Future Finmart.

Power equipment maker Jyoti Structures spurted 4.07% to Rs 162.30 after its secured an order worth Rs 160 crore for construction of transmission line and sub-stations in Uganda.

US markets rallied yesterday, 24 March 2008 on the back of a revised offer for Bear Strens. JP Morgan Chase revised its open offer for Bear Strearns to $10 per share from $2 per share. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 187.32 points, or 1.52%, to 12,548.64. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 20.37 points, or 1.53%, to 1,349.88, and the Nasdaq Composite index added 68.64 points, or 3.04%, to 2,326.75.

JP Morgan Chase increases its bid to $10 a share for the troubled Bear Sterns

Bear Sterns news and a better-than-expected report from the troubled housing sector helped US Market register comfortable gains today, Monday, 24 March, 2008. JP Morgan Chase lifted its offer to buy Bear Sterns at $10/share from its previous $2/share. This Helped Bear Sterns stock soar by more than 85% today and also gave the financial sector an overall good boost. Nine out of ten economic sectors finished with a gain. The utilities sector, known for its defensive orientation, was the lone loser.

In the mornings session, the Dow was up by more than 214 points. But in the second half, financial sector gave up its gains to a large extent. At the end, The Dow Jones industrial Average ended the day with a huge gain of 187 points at 12,548. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 68.6 points at 2,326. S&P 500 finished higher by 20 points at 1,350.

Twenty-seven out of thirty Dow stocks ended in the green today. Citigroup led the group of Dow winners.

The day started with some good news in other sectors also. The Federal Housing Finance Board authorized the Federal Home Loan Banks to increase their purchases of agency mortgage backed securities. The expanded authority - which could provide more than $100 billion in additional liquidity to mortgage-backed securities is limited to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae securities.

But the day’s major economic release was the existing home sales data. As per reports by National Realtors, February existing home sales rose 2.9% to a seasonal adjusted annualized rate of 5.03 million. The prior reading stood at 4.89 million, and market expected a decline to 4.85 million.

The interesting part about the data was that the 2.9% rise in existing home sales marked the first monthly gain in a year. Inventories are still high at 9.6 months, but are at the lowest level since August.

All Indian ADRs ended in green today. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the two topmost gainers. The two ADRs gained 8% and 13% respectively today.

Crude prices closed modestly lower today as the dollar continued to rally. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $100.86/barrel (lower by $0.98/barrel or 1%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices earlier dropped to $99.5 and rose to a high of $102.4. Crude prices are 62% higher on a yearly basis.

In the currency market today, the dollar pared euro gains but extended its rise against the yen, as stocks rallied after data showed U.S. February existing homes sales beat expectations and rose for the first time in seven months. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was at 72.93, up from 72.87 before the data. But losses in crude price were limited due to the stronger than expected economic data.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange neared 4.4 billion, and advancing stocks outran those declining 5 to 1. On the Nasdaq, 2.3 billion shares changed hands, and advancers led decliners nearly 3 to 1.

Tomorrow, a few companies will post their latest earnings result before the opening bell. Other than that, Conference Board's Consumer Confidence data will be released at 10:00 ET. The housing sector will remain in the spotlight with the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index due for release.

The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, are expected to commence on a firm note and witness significant rally during intra-day trades, as international markets backed by firm US and Asian indices may help the sentiment remain buoyant. Among the Asian majors, Nikkei has surged 166 points at 12646 while Hang Seng has scaled up 782 points at 21890. On the technical front, the Nifty could test in the 4680-4700 range on the upside and has support at 4500, while the Sensex has a likely support at 15065 and may face resistance at 15470.

US indices posted steady gains on Monday with the Dow Jones moving 187 points up to close at 12549, while the Nasdaq added 69 points to close at 2327.

All the Indian floats had a decent outing on the US bourses. ICICI Bank was the biggest gainer and rose 13.10% while Rediff scaled up 9.60%. VSNL, Satyam, Infosys HDFC Bank, Tata Motors and Wipro jumped over 6-8% each while Patni Computers gained over 3%.

Crude oil prices in the US market moved up, with the Nymex Light crude oil for May 08 delivery moving down by 98 cents to close at $100.86 a barrel. In the Commodity segment, the Comex gold for April series lost $1.30 to settle at $918.70 a troy ounce.

You don't have to travel around the world to understand that the sky is blue everywhere.

The colors seem to be changing as the heat get on. The bears had literally painted the world red and bulls are slowly latching on to blue chips hoping to turn the world green (not with envy). The world’s worries are not over as yet but global cues this morning show an encouraging sign. Don’t pick up battered mid-caps or small caps. Grab the blue chips, which have got chipped to a large extent in recent months.

On a cautious note, the Indian economy is facing some headwinds in the form of soaring inflation, industrial slowdown, high interest rates, a volatile currency and moderation in earnings growth. Given all these negative factors, along with the lack of confidence among bulls, the market is likely to see pressure at higher levels. While the long term outlook still remains positive, near term is a cause for worry.

Keep tabs on the global developments for any fresh bad news emerging from the depressed credit markets. Despite the pull-back in US shares over the past few sessions, there are fears that some more skeletons may tumble out of the sub-prime closet.

The bulls managed to regain some lost ground yesterday with the BSE Sensex almost rising by almost 2%. The NSE Nifty’s rise (up 0.8%) was subdued mainly due to heavy selling in Cairn India, SAIL, Unitech, Sterlite and Suzlon. These shares are not there in the Sensex. However, the rally came on lower volumes even in an F&O expiry week. Also, market breadth was highly unfavourable to the bulls. This bounce lacked conviction and FII flows have been rather erratic, making it tough to predict a clear direction. The same also holds true for the local funds.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs3.76bn (provisional) in the cash segment yesterday while local institutions pulled out Rs2.53bn. In the F&O segment, foreign funds were net buyers to the tune of Rs18bn yesterday. On March 19, FIIs were net buyers of Rs5.37bn in the cash segment while Mutual Funds offloaded shares worth Rs2.91bn on the same day.

Most Asian markets, barring China and Taiwan, are trading smartly higher this morning. The Nikkei in Tokyo gained 166 points or 1.3% at 12,646 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 698 points or 3.3% at 21,806. The Hong Kong market was shut yesterday.

The Kospi in Seoul gained 19 points or 1.2% at 1675 while the Straits Times in Singapore rose 52 points or 1.8% at 2980. The Shanghai Composite in China was down 55 points or 1.5% at 3570 and the Taiex in Taiwan shed 36 points or 0.4% at 8828.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.9% to 138.55 as of 11:02 a.m. in Tokyo, on course for its first three-day gain since the period ended Feb. 27. All 10 industry groups advanced.

US stocks gained for the second day running on Monday amid news reports that JP Morgan Chase was boosting its bid for Bear Stearns. Economic data, pointing to signs of stability in the troubled housing sector, also managed to calm frayed nerves.

The S &P 500 Index added 20.37 points, or 1.5%, to 1,349.88 as nine of its 10 industry groups advanced. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 187.32 points, or 1.5%, to 12,548.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 68.64 points, or 3%, to 2,326.75.

Market breadth was positive. Nine stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

The major indexes extended their early gains after the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes unexpectedly rose in February for the first time in seven months, easing concern that tighter credit standards and plunging prices would hurt demand.

Shares of Bear Stearns soared nearly 89% after JP Morgan quintupled its offer to $10 a share from an initial $2 a share, with the sweetened bid valuing the 85-year-old firm at more than $1bn. JP Morgan Chase shares rose 1.3%.

The surge helped lift others in the financial sector with Merrill Lynch, AIG, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup leading gains among the blue chips. Shares of Tiffany & Co. gained more than 10% after the luxury-goods retailer raised its profit forecast for the current fiscal year.

The Department of Justice approved the XM Satellite-Sirius merger, over a year after it was first announced. XM shares jumped 15.5%, while Sirius shares gained 8.6%.

Oil and gold prices fluctuated after sliding in the early trades. US light, crude oil for May delivery fell 98 cents to settle at $100.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices hit a record $111.80 in electronic trading last week.

COMEX gold for April delivery fell $1.30 to settle at $918.70 an ounce. Gold hit an all-time trading high of $1,033.90 an ounce one week ago.

The dollar gained versus both the euro and yen. Since hitting an all-time low versus the euro and a 12-year low versus the yen last week, the dollar has recovered a bit. Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.55% from 3.36% late on Thursday.

Markets in Europe were shut for extended Easter holiday.

In the emerging markets, the Bovespa in Brazil gained 1.4% to 59,812 while the IPC index in Mexico jumped nearly 2% to 29,634. The RTS index in Russia advanced 1.85% to 2000 and the ISE National 30 index in Turkey shot up 4% to 51,214.

Volatility to continue

It was strong start to the first session of the week. After coming back from one of the longest breaks Indian markets have taken in recent years, bulls staged a strong start despite weak cues from the Asian markets. Markets lost ground in the mid afternoon trades as selling pressure in the Metal and the Realty stocks dragged the benchmark Sensex to low of 15,056. However, staged a strong come back towards the fag end of the session, the index heavyweights like HDFC, Wipro, ICICI Bank and Hindustan Unilever led from the front

Finally, the BSE benchmark Sensex added 294 points to 15,289 and the Nifty index added 35 points to close at 4609. Overall about 563 stocks advanced; 2,121 stocks declined while 33 stocks remained unchanged. Among the 50 Nifty, 31 stocks ended in positive territory. On the other hand, 18 stocks ended in red.

GTL Ltd gained by half a percent to Rs236 after Vanu Inc on March 20, 2008 announced a strategic alliance with GTL LTD to address the Shared Active Infrastructure Services Market in India. The Company and Vanu Inc, is the leading software radio innovator for the wireless infrastructure industry. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs239 and a low of Rs230 and recorded volumes of over 56,000 shares on BSE.

Shree Cement was down by over 3% to Rs966. The company said that they have expanded clinker production capacity. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs989 and a low of Rs948.

Micro Technologies lost over 5% to Rs181. The company announced the launch of new and unique one pack solution of Premises Security product called the Micro ISS (Intelligent Surveillance System). The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs191 and a low of Rs177 and recorded volumes of over 25,000 shares on BSE.

Great Offshore was down by a percent to Rs591. The Company said that they would consider buyback of shares on March 31. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs651 and a low of Rs573 and recorded volumes of over 27,000 shares on BSE.

Aurobindo Pharma edged lower by 0.2% to Rs248. The company announced that it signed agreement with TAD Italy. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs259 and a low of Rs241 and recorded volumes of over 85,000 shares on BSE.

Marico bounced back and gained by 1.2% to Rs62. The stock had initially slipped after the company said that they would discontinue distribution alliance with Indo Nissin. The scrip has touched an intra-day high of Rs63 and a low of Rs60 and recorded volumes of over 83,000 shares on BSE.

Petron Engineering advanced by 3% to Rs199 after the company announced that it secured Rs33.7mn contract. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs195 and a low of Rs184 and recorded volumes of over 49,000 shares on BSE.

Corporate Front Page

Reliance Industries has decided to shut down all the petroleum retail outlets owned by it directly. (ET) Reliance Industries is evaluating a plan to set up its third refinery at Jamnagar to reach a total capacity of 100mmtpa. (BS)The Indian JV of Fiat and Tata Motors plans to invest Rs23.4bn in its Ranjangaon facility in Pune, taking the total investment to Rs40.4bn. (ET) Oil India plans to go ahead with its IPO despite the stock market falling more than 29% from its peak in January. (BS) Petronet LNG is keen to join existing coal bed methane projects in Australia and plans to bid for gas blocks in the next auction. (ET)BPCL and GAIL will float a joint venture — God’s Own Gas Company (Go Gas) — for marketing CNG and piped gas in Kerala and Karnataka. (BS) ICICI Bank has entered into a Rs11.5bn equity-cum-debt deal with Jaypee Infratech for the 165km Taj Expressway. (ET)Ranbaxy, Cipla and Aurobindo Pharma are in the race for the US$200mn South African government tender to supply anti-HIV drugs. (ET) The NPPA has asked Cipla to pay Rs628.5mn as interest on alleged unpaid overcharged amounts in respect of four drugs. (BS) Cipla is developing a basket of combination-drugs, including medicines for allergic rhinitis, asthma and cardiac-problems for developed markets. (BL)Cipla is set to launch the world’s first triple drug combination inhaler for patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in India. (DNA) TCS has been selected to provide its flagship electronic signature platform for US-based Prudential Financial Inc. (BL)The USFDA has asked the US subsidiary of Sun Pharma to withdraw many batches of its generic Metformin Hydrochloride tablets. (BS) Tata Motors and Ford are expected to complete the Jaguar-Land Rover deal on March 26. (ET) Eicher Motors will replace its existing Skyline and Cruiser buses with a new range that will meet all specifications of the Indian bus-code. (BL) Future group is all set to tie up with Cisco Systems to implement RFID technology across all its retail formats. (ET)Emami Group, now in the midst of an expansion-diversification mode, plans to spend Rs2.5bn on its edible oils unit in Haldia. (BL) GHCL’s Board has accorded an in-principle approval to spin off its home textile and retail businesses into separate units. (BL) Punjab National Bank plans to raise fresh capital of Rs5bn by issuing upper tier-II bonds on a private placement basis. (BL) Rain Group is expanding the capacity of its cement plant in Kurnool, by adding 1.5mn tons by May, besides augmenting its CPC production. (BL)Madras Cements plans to expand cement capacity to 10 MTPA by Q2 FY09 and to increase grinding capacity by 1MTPA each at Kolaghat, Chennai and Salem facilities with an investment of Rs15.2bn. (DNA) Gulf Oil Corp has announced the launch of four-stroke motorcycle oil Gulf Pride 4T Plus 10W-30, a synthetic blend oil. (BL)Allcargo Global Logistics has purchased a 650 ton capacity Leibherr-LR-1650 crawler crane and ordered 10 more crawler and telescopic cranes having 150-400 ton capacity. (DNA) Aarvee Denims is expecting to almost double its turnover in 2008-09 on the back of its Rs700mn expansion plan. (BS) LIC has increased its stake in Reliance Communications to over 5%. (ET)Nicholas Pharma has launched a pilot project in Rajasthan to take its drugs to rural areas where there is no proper public health system. (BS) Raheja Developers will foray into hospitality sector with the Indian Hotels Company. (ET) GMR group is diversifying in the real estate sector with a Rs33bn deal. (ET) Aries Agro is targeting a turnover of Rs2bn during FY10 on the back of its proposed capacity expansion plans. (BS) BP is likely to enter into a strategic tie-up with Cals, a Spice Energy holding company, for its proposed US$1bn refinery at Haldia. (ET) Hyundai Motor plans to sell buses in India from 2009. (Mint)National Dairy Development Board has started the process of merging Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable and Dhara Vegetable Oil & Foods Co. (ET)UK-based Cobra Beer targets to sell 20 mn cases in India by 2012 and will infuse US$80mn in setting up and acquiring new breweries. (ET) LG Electronics is targeting to sell around 1.5mn refrigerators in 2008. (ET)

Economic Front Page

The Centre is contemplating amending the land acquisition law to ensure adequate compensation to people whose lands are acquired. The Government also says that no agricultural and irrigated land should be taken for SEZs. (FE) According to telecom regulator TRAI, India is set to become the second largest wireless network in the world in April. (ET)The Government will raise Rs960bn from the market in April-September by issuing securities to part-finance its expenditure in 2008-09. (BS) TRAI may rethink on phasing out access deficit charge this year. (BL) Banks and financial institutions have settled NPAs of about Rs30bn in 2007-08 through the auction route, which is 25% less than last year. (FE)Five million DTH subscribers may be able to switch from their current service providers to new players by installing an add-on device. (BS)The NHAI has projected an expenditure of Rs280bn for FY09 to complete its ongoing projects and the new projects announced under NHDP. (BS)The Government warned telecom companies to put the required security system in place within 15 days or stop the Blackberry services. (BS) Aluminium prices have been reduced by Rs10,000 per ton from March 20. (ET) Coal production in the 11th Five Year Plan period is expected to increase by 680mn tons from 460mn tons. (ET) Orthodox tea production during the next five years is expected to touch 130mn kg from 80mn kg. (ET) The Government is considering cutting import duty on soya oil. (ET) The Government is mulling the abolition of import duty on all grades of steel. (FE) Steel manufacturers say they would reduce prices provided the excise duty on the alloy is brought down to a reasonable level. (BS)

Crude prices closed modestly lower today, Monday, 24 March, 2008 as the dollar continued to rally. Prices had been continuing to slip ever since Federal Reserve decided to cut overnight lending rates by 75 bps to bring it down to 2.25% to strengthen the economy last week.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $100.86/barrel (lower by $0.98/barrel or 1%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices earlier dropped to $99.5 and rose to a high of $102.4. Crude prices are 62% higher on a yearly basis. The crude ended last week lower by more than $7 (6.8%) .

In the currency market today, the dollar pared euro gains but extended its rise against the yen, as stocks rallied after data showed U.S. February existing homes sales beat expectations and rose for the first time in seven months. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was at 72.93, up from 72.87 before the data. But losses in crude price was limited due to the stronger than expected economic data.

A stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies. On the other hand, crude prices, denominated in dollars, tend to rise when the greenback falls, as a weaker U.S. currency makes crude less expensive to buyers holding other currencies. It also lowers oil producers' dollar revenue and forces them to raise prices.

Exchanges in New York and London were closed on 21 March for the Good Friday holiday.

Brent crude oil for May settlement today fell $0.52 (0.5%) to $99.86 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The London benchmark rose 54% in FY 2007, the most since 1999 when prices more than doubled.

Natural gas advances on weather concerns

Natural gas advanced on speculation colder temperatures will boost demand for the fuel for heating and reduced output from nuclear power plants will increase its use for power generation. Gas for April delivery rose 26.4 cents (2.9%) to settle at $9.329 per million British thermal units.

Against this backdrop, May reformulated gasoline edged up 2.27 cents to $2.635 a gallon and May heating oil fell 3.23 cents to $2.8741 a gallon.

Crude had ended FY 2007 substantially higher by $35 or 57%. It was crude’s biggest yearly gain in five years.

OPEC left production targets unchanged on its 5 March meeting at Vienna, giving 12 of its 13 members a combined quota of 29.67 million barrels a day. Also over the weekend, it was reported that OPEC President Chakib Khelil said oil prices would range between $80 and $110 a barrel for the rest of 2008.

At the MCX, crude oil for May delivery closed at Rs 4,046/barrel, higher by Rs 11 (0.27%) against previous day’s close. Natural gas for March delivery closed at Rs 366.7/mmtbu, lower by Rs 2/mmtbu (0.54%).